More protests in Haiti as unrest continues over fuel prices

A main street is relatively empty in Delmas due to a general strike in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, early Monday, July 9, 2018. A nationwide, general strike and protest has been called for Monday to demand the resignation of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise after his government agreed to reduce subsidies for fuel as part of an assistance package with the International Monetary Fund. The government suspended the fuel hike after widespread violence broke out on Friday and over the weekend. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Protesters clashed with police Monday in Haiti’s capital while a general strike kept most people at home across the country in a fourth day of unrest sparked by a now-rescinded government…

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Protesters clashed with police Monday in Haiti’s capital while a general strike kept most people at home across the country in a fourth day of unrest sparked by a now-rescinded government plan to raise fuel prices in the impoverished nation.

Demonstrators linked to various opposition factions marched on the parliament building but were turned back by police. Protesters also set fire to a tax office in the Tabarre area of the capital.

But much of Port-au-Prince and the country shut down. The general strike halted the mini-buses and taxis that most Haitians depend on to get to work or school. Most businesses closed after the people took advantage of the protests to loot shops around the capital.

Public Security Secretary Ronsard Saint Cyr and leaders of the House of Deputies and Senate called for an end to the protests and to the general strike.

Protests erupted Friday hours before the government-set price of fuel was to rise by up to 50 percent, part of a plan endorsed by the International Monetary Fund to modernize the economy.

The Haitian government canceled the increase amid protests that left several people dead and prompted airlines to cancel flights to the impoverished country.

Flights have resumed, allowing people who had been stuck in Haiti over the weekend, including groups of U.S. missionaries, to leave the country.